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E-Tolls FAQs

Information on this page is correct as of 03 January 2019

  • Q: What are E-Tolls?

    A: E-Toll is the Electronic Toll Collection system in South Africa and is run by SANRAL (South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited), which is the company mandated by government to manage the national road network in South Africa.

    E-toll allows for the electronic collection of toll wherever the e-tag logo is displayed.

    If you have hired a car from First Car Rental and want to view your E-Toll transactions, click here.

  • Q: How do E-Tolls work?

    A: E-Toll gantries use Open Road Tolling (ORT), which is a multi-lane free flow electronic tolling system that allows for tolls to be collected without vehicles having to stop or slow down, i.e. there are no physical toll booths on the highways (e-roads).

    Overhead gantries are fitted with the toll collection equipment that recognises the vehicle identifier (electronic transponder (e-tag) in a vehicle and /or the vehicle number plate).

    Toll is deducted from a user's registered e-toll account associated with the vehicle identifier and the user will be able to travel without any disruption. Drivers who are not registered with an e-tag will be billed by Sanral.

    A vehicle's number plates will be photographed from the front and back as part of the verification process. The gantry equipment also measures the vehicle in order to classify it.

  • Q: Where are E-Tolls located?

    A: As of July 2015, the E-Toll system currently operates in Gauteng (South Africa).

    The Gauteng e-road has 43 gantries along the N1, N3, N12 and R21. These overhead gantries are situated approximately every 10km (or between interchanges). Each gantry is fitted with toll collection equipment that recognises a vehicle's e-tag (if any) and photographs the front and back vehicle licence plate numbers as well as the top of the vehicle.

    Visit the e-toll website here to view the map showing the location of each gantry.

  • Q: What happens if there is a power outage?

    A: Each e-toll gantry point is installed with sufficient primary and backup power systems to keep the gantries operational.

    All the systems are monitored in real-time. In the event an e-toll gantry point passage fails due to power outage, the backup system takes over while SANRAL service engineers attend to the fault immediately.

  • Q: Are any vehicles exempt from paying e-toll fees?

    A: Yes, through legislation, the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are exempt.

    Through a Cabinet directive, qualifying Commuter Public Transport Operators will receive 100% discount in certain instances. Please refer to the appropriate Government Gazette for further details.

  • Q: How much will it cost per gantry point?

    A: Toll fees are raised per gantry. The charge rate differs per vehicle classes and per gantry as each gantry represents a different distance.

    First Car Rental charges the Government gazetted Standard Tariff. As of 1 July 2015, the Standard Tariff and registered e-tag user toll fees are the same (see table below).

    Renters' e-toll charges will be capped at R600 per month, which is the same as the registered and unregistered e-tag user monthly cap set by SANRAL.

    All First Car Rental customers using the Gauteng E-Toll system will also be charged a R35 administration fee (including VAT) per rental contract.

    For easy calculation of your e-toll fees, use SANRAL's online e-toll calculator.

    PLEASE NOTE: Class A2 - light motor vehicle or similar

  • E-toll tariffs 2017


    E-toll tariffs 2017
  • Q: Will students and pensioners get special discounts?

    A: No, there are no special discounts for students or pensioners.

  • Q: Can the cameras identify stolen vehicles?

    A: No. However, all cars passing through a gantry will be photographed and identified. If your car has been stolen it must be reported to the South African Police Service.

  • Q: Are the e-toll gantries used for speed enforcement?

    A: No, the e-toll gantries and their equipment will not be used for speed enforcement. Gantries only handle tolling records and their subsequent e-toll transactions.

  • Q: Will photographs be taken of my vehicle every time I pass under a gantry?

    A: Yes, photographs will be taken from the front and back of your vehicle each time it passes under a gantry.


  • About Car Rentals, E-tolls and E-tags

  • Q: Are First Car Rental vehicles e-tagged?

    A: Yes, First Car Rental's entire fleet has been fitted with e-tags. This is to ensure that customers are not penalised should they plan to travel into Gauteng. Please note that for the time being these tags are only applicable to the new Gauteng Gantries open road tolling system and Bakwena and not any other National Roads tolling systems.

    (Bakwena - The Platinum Toll Highway consists of a 95km section of the N1 running from Pretoria northwards to the town of BelaBela (Warmbaths) and a 290 kilometre section of the N4 running from Pretoria westwards to the Botswana border)

  • Q: Is there a monthly e-toll charge cap?

    A: Yes. The monthly e-toll charge cap for light motor vehicles with or without e-tags is R600 per month. This cap also applies to First Car Rental customers.

  • Q: Will customers be capped at R600 per calendar month or per 'rental' month, i.e., if a customer rents from the 15th in one month to the 15th in the next, is the cap R600 or R1000?

    A: First Car Rental customers will be capped per 'rental' month. This means that, irrespective of collection date within the month, First Car Rental customers will never be charged more than R600 per month for e-toll fees.

  • Q: When will I receive my invoice?

    A: If renters have accrued e-toll fees during their rental, they will be issued with an invoice 3 days after the rental termination. This is because it takes 3 days for SANRAL to process e-toll transactions.

  • Q: Will there be an increase in deposits to cover the toll fees?

    A: We have increased our deposit payable at time of vehicle collection within all market segments exposed to cash or credit card transactions to ensure that there are sufficient funds available to cover potential toll charges incurred by our customers. The reason why we implemented the deposit increase nationally and not just for pick-ups in Gauteng, is the fact that customers could be collecting at any of our branches, but driving through or terminating the rental in Gauteng.

  • Q: How long will credit card refunds and authorisation releases take?

    A: First Car Rental operates a payment and authorisation system. This means that instead of one full amount being taken off the customer's credit card at the start of a rental, the amount is split into Payment & Authorisation amounts.

    The Payment Amount is the amount that is physically taken from the customer's credit card. It is calculated as follows: Fuel Deposit plus Full Rental (if not pre-paid) plus additional items, if applicable (e.g. e-toll fees, additional kilometres, baby seats, one way fees, cross border fees, etc.).

    Once the vehicle is returned, the difference between the balance owing (fuel and rental costs) and the payment amount taken will be refunded to the customer within 48 hours after the termination date, provided there is no damage to the vehicle or e-toll fees. Should the contract have attracted e-toll fees from SANRAL, then the payment amount will be refunded within 5 working days of the contract termination date.

    The Authorisation Amount is the amount that is "held" by the credit card issuer, not physically taken off the credit card. It is the Renter's Responsibility amount (the maximum the customer is liable for in the event of damage to, or theft of, the rental vehicle).

    The Authorisation Amount is "held" by the card-issuing bank as an Authorisation on the Credit Card upon vehicle collection. This means that the Authorisation Amount is not removed from the credit card, it is just blocked. This Authorisation Amount is then automatically cancelled by First Car Rental when the rental is terminated, provided there is no damage to the vehicle.

    Please note that even though the instruction to release the credit card block is sent automatically and immediately, South African credit card issuing banks release the Authorisation Amount block, and this can take from 24 hours up to 7 working days.

  • Q: Will renters who use the delivery & collection service be billed for e-toll fees?

    A: This will mostly affect the replacement market. Please remember that it will be cheaper to collect from and return a car to a branch rather than opting for a delivery or collection service, which now could have toll fees levied against the customer. The customer will be responsible for the e-tolls incurred between the closest branch and the delivery or collection point. We will take responsibility for the 2nd vehicle, which is utilised to collect the driver of the customer vehicle.

  • Q: How will the cost of the e-tolls be reconciled for corporate travellers?

    • We will receive an electronic transaction file per e-toll transaction from Sanral.

    • As we receive it, we automatically verify that it is our vehicle.

    • We then do checks on the actual tag plus registration combination and match a movement to the toll date and time stamp.

    • This enables us to determine whether it is an internal movement or a rental or if indeed a rental movement.

    • We then charge the relevant renter or debtor on the main invoice.

  • Q: Are renters able to receive e-toll reports?

    A: Yes, all your detailed e-toll transactions can be emailed to you. First Car Rental will only show the total e-toll amount incurred on invoices, but we log all SANRAL information received so you are able to request detailed reports at any time or download them from our website here.

  • Q: Is there an e-toll administration fee?

    A: Yes, First Car Rental charges a R35 e-toll administration fee (including VAT) per rental contract.

  • Q: Will the R35 administration fee only be levied to customers that use the Gauteng e-toll system or for every rental contract?

    A: Yes, the R35 administration fee will only apply to customers that have used the Gauteng e-toll system.

  • Q: If a customer is on a partial contract will they only pay one admin fee?

    A: The admin fee is levied the moment the first e-toll transaction is logged. Yes, it will only be associated to the correct invoice (1/2) as per selection on debtor for this particular additional charge. E-toll fees and the R35 admin fee will always be present on the same invoice as per debtor flag.

  • Q: At what rate will you charge the toll?

    A: First Car Rental is charging its customers the gazetted Standard Tariff. The Standard Tariff is exactly the same as the registered e-tag user tariff.

  • Q: Is the driver or the owner of the hire car responsible for the toll fee?

    A: The driver is responsible.

  • Q: How do you compare to your car hire competitors?

    A: We are charging the same as other car hire companies.

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